White House, Senate Democrats clash over campaign cash

Senate Democrats are increasingly concerned that President Barack Obama’s campaign money machine is sucking up so much cash that it will cut into the party’s aggressive campaign to hold on to the Senate next year, several Democratic sources say.

Democratic senators have already pressed Obama campaign officials — including campaign manager Jim Messina — not to lock up the richest Democratic donors, but the presidential campaign declined to make such a promise.

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Majority Leader Harry Reid and other top Senate Democrats have also asked for at least $10 million in aid from the Democratic National Committee as well as the president’s reelection campaign to help underwrite expensive TV ad campaigns and on-the-ground efforts for crucial Senate races in 2012, according to Democratic sources.

In a recent meeting in Washington, Reid, along with Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.); Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the third-highest ranking Democrat; and Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), chairwoman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, made their pitch to Messina, according to Democratic sources.

Messina would not agree to the request not to max out big donors, and no decision was made on the amount of financial backing that Senate Democrats will get from the DNC and the Obama-Biden campaign.

Democrats believe Obama’s robust campaign infrastructure will benefit a number of their Senate candidates in pivotal presidential swing states, but it’s not clear how much emphasis the president’s team will place in a handful of other states where Senate races could determine the balance of power in the chamber next Congress.

“We have a huge number of incumbents who are up this cycle and a lot of them have taken tough votes to enact significant portions of this president’s agenda, and I think that there is a sense that there should be an all-hands-on-deck approach to keep the Senate in Democratic hands,” said one Democratic official familiar with the meeting.

The meeting between Messina and Democratic senators shows that fights over campaign cash are not always straight Republican-Democratic contests. As the 2012 campaign gets started in earnest, there is increased competition for donors across the board as Democrats in the House and Senate scramble to raise money while the Obama-Biden team is vacuuming up money from wealthy Democrats who may soon max out their contributions.

Adding more competition in the race for cash, Democratic operatives have formed a number of new third-party groups, known as super PACs, each of which have sometimes competing goals of electing more House Democrats, Senate Democrats or Obama himself. These operatives are often competing for the same list of wealthy donors.

All this comes at a time of growing concern among Democrats that Obama’s decreasing popularity may limit the amount donors are willing to give to Democratic campaigns.

While nowhere near as intense as the donor scramble going on among GOP presidential hopefuls, Democratic strategists and fundraisers are aware that donor dollars are especially precious in a struggling economy.

“The biggest problem of all is that people are frustrated and disillusioned,” said Peter Buttenwieser, a major Senate Democratic donor and 2008 and 2012 Obama bundler. But Buttenwieser, a philanthropist who is heir to the Lehman Brothers securities fortune, predicted that Democratic incumbents would be well-financed this cycle.

The Blue Dog Democrats stood by Pelosi in a number of difficult votes in the House. Look where it got them. Unemployment. The White House will suck up the funds and then blame the Congress for Obama's short comings.

There is plenty of money to go around. Senate Democrats would better serve themselves and their fundraising interests if they would more loudly fight for middle-class Americans, the poor, the young and the elderly. Among other things, that means getting smarter about drawing publicity for their jobs-creating bills Republicans consistently oppose and swat down. The Democrats' smart fight to end the exclusive oil subsidies didn't get the national attention it deserved. Schumer is not doing a very good job at messaging and shaping the national discussion. But nearly all Republicans in the senate voted to repeal and replace Medicare with puny vouchers that shrink in value over the years; that in itself should greatly help Democrats hold the senate in 2012.

There are 13.9 Million unemployed Americans and 45 Million Americans recieving Food Stamps assistance. The State Of Texas has the highest number of Americans - 4 Million in the country, recieving Food Stamp assistance. Why is Spkr. Boehner and House Of Representatives sitting on their backsides doing nothing?

I am sure they understand, the US economy is a "Consumer Driven" economy. Consumer spending represent 70 % of our economy. That 70 % is $ 10 Trillion dollars of $ 14 . 3 Trillion dollar US GDP. Imagine, if we can put those 13.9 Million Americans back to work, that is 13.9 Million new "consumers" that would fire-up the growth we need in our economy. Jobs, Jobs, Jobs will heal what ails our economy.

FACT: The GOP controlled House of Representatives have introduced ZERO job-destroying legislation in the 112th Congress.

The 111th Congress destroyed millions of jobs with their anti-business legislation, their tax increases and that bueget-busting Obamacare bill that was passed with a heavy dose of bribes and threats.

Lookit - the fact of the matter is - GOVERNMENT DOES NOT CREATE PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS. All they can do is hamper business to the point where they destroy them. Every job in the public sector (working for the government) is funded by taking money from the private sector, thereby destorying an equal or greater number of jobs in the private sector.

Our basic problem is that this socialist administration has move too much money from the private sector to fund their grandiose programs. Their insane spending must be stopped and reversed. Only then will a recovery begin.

FACT: The GOP controlled House of Representatives have introduced ZERO job-destroying legislation in the 112th Congress.

The 111th Congress destroyed millions of jobs with their anti-business legislation, their tax increases and that bueget-busting Obamacare bill that was passed with a heavy dose of bribes and threats.

Lookit - the fact of the matter is - GOVERNMENT DOES NOT CREATE PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS. All they can do is hamper business to the point where they destroy them. Every job in the public sector (working for the government) is funded by taking money from the private sector, thereby destorying an equal or greater number of jobs in the private sector.

Our basic problem is that this socialist administration has move too much money from the private sector to fund their grandiose programs. Their insane spending must be stopped and reversed. Only then will a recovery begin.

After 3 years he still hasn't raised his lazy selfish rear to do any ACTUAL work - just keeps promising to work in the future. It's actually remarkable.

Oh he has physically gone a few places to raise money FOR HIMSELF and played some bball but for the people in his party? HA! You dems in the Congress were suckered by this fraud who got every thing he has by fibbing on his transfer application to get into Columbia, by begging for affirmative action from Harvard when he was unable to compete on the same playing level with other Americans and by passing money back and forth to his cash daddy Tony Rezko for his Chicago bling house.

Obama was dirty right out of the gate - cut the uncle tom loose and generate some positivity by backing Hillary. Schumer - you go first - you were one of the main ones that betrayed her. If you don't ---- ha ha ha - you are ALL going down in 2012. The above advice is worth a trillion.

ha ha ha - republicans have all the gamut of choice they need now and Obozo has no clothes. bawk bawk bawk bawk Why do democrats have no choice? King where are my people now? Chained and passified by the CBC - oooh we can't offer a selection on the menu for our country because the coloreds would be too violent and scurry if we ran a primary choice. Democrats = perpetually motivated by the WRONG motives.

Democrats = the party consisting of one third trust fund spoiled whites and jews who act like pansies afraid of their mouthy immature black contingent, one third africans who threaten and hate the other two thirds, and one third real pansies from the castro.

I should add that all of the democratic chickens have come home to roost - 2010 was historically bad for democrats but wait - it was just a warmup for what 2012 will feel like - sizzling seared chicken

PS we all know Obama is committing first degree murder in Libya for an illegal regime change - we just can't protest about it yet because we can't figure out which thing is worse - Obama's naked murder attempts or Obama's incompetence at it

Will somebody please tell Obama to stop using taxpayer money to campaign. His arrogance and disdain for the suffering of the American people knows no bounds.

Clearly Obama is a very dangerous man. The fact he would openly plan to spend $1 billion to get reelected while the average American is suffering shows he is only concerned about getting more time to impose his left-wing agenda on America.

How can we ever trust a man who would spend $1 billion to get reelected to ever have the discipline to get the government's fiscal house in order? We should all be outraged by this campaign plan and it is reason enough for everyone to vote against him.

The Democrats and Obama are trying to destroy the American Dream. The RECKLESS SPENDING, INTRUSIVE REGULATION, and HIGH TAXES are stopping job and economic growth. If we had listened to the Tea Party, our debt would NOT have been downgraded.

Want to get voted back in!? Start doing the work of the PEOPLE and not the PARTY! Democratic senators have SCREWED the American people every chance they get with their partisan games and payback time is coming.